1938 & 1939 Women's Boat Race Oars.

We always like to have a few unusual objects here in the shop and today has seen the arrival of a pair of real oddities. Two 12 foot long oars used by Oxford in the 1938 and 1939 women's university boat race. Handsomely decorated in gold on the black blade of each oar with the university crest, the date and the names (and weights!) of the eight crew and cox of the boat. It seems Oxford were victorious in 1939 as that year's oar proudly records they beat London University by two and a half lengths and Cambridge by four lengths. Success in 1939 might have been down to the improved design of oar's shaft which is triangular in cross-section and remarkably lightweight.